Latvia’s financial intelligence chief to leave post in December

Latvia’s Financial Intelligence Unit chief Toms Platacis will leave the service on December 11, citing his professional development goals, LSM reported.

Platacis said he had informed colleagues and responsible officials of his decision during the summer so the agency could plan the redistribution of his duties. He said he wanted the unit to continue fully carrying out its functions.

Among his goals when he joined the unit was to make Latvia’s anti-money laundering system effective and internationally recognised. His priorities included leading Latvia’s sixth-round Moneyval mutual evaluation and establishing a centralised sanctions implementation function. Platacis said he considers these goals achieved and that the unit has developed strong professional capacity and internationally recognised expertise.

He said he had achieved the goals he set during almost eight years in public service and planned to return to the private sector, where he hopes to use his experience to strengthen anti-money laundering efforts more broadly. Platacis also said effective sanctions implementation and enforcement would remain a security priority for Latvia and Europe.

Parliament elected Platacis to a five-year term in September 2023. He had worked at the Financial Intelligence Unit since 2019. The agency works to prevent Latvia’s financial system from being used for money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation, and is the country’s competent authority on sanctions enforcement.